Foxx Named Chair of House Education Committee

North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx, a vocal critic of the Obama administration’s higher education policies, will be the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Foxx, a former community college president, replaces Minnesota Republican John Kline, who is retiring at the end of the 114th Congress. She will take over leadership of the committee as Republicans in both chambers make plans to roll back Obama-era regulations on a number of sectors, including higher education.

In a postelection interview with Inside Higher Ed, Foxx said studying how those regulations could be repealed would be a top priority. And she said she would support scaling back the size of the Department of Education in the next Congress.

Foxx’s committee will also play a key role in shaping education policy through the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

She said she looks forward to building on the work of Kline and former House Speaker John Boehner.

“The committee will continue to work towards fostering the best opportunities for students to learn, workers to succeed and employers to grow,” Foxx said in a statement. “At all times, we will strive in our service to hold government institutions to the highest standards of accountability and transparency, with a constant eye towards eliminating waste and inefficiency. Our creative, ambitious pursuit of good policy will be guided by the Constitution with solutions centered on securing and protecting access to high-quality education and safe and productive workplaces for all Americans.”